4/4/23: A new city attorney
Kzoo picks new city attorney
The City of Kalamazoo’s new city attorney will likely be the son of migrant farm workers who first got to know Michigan when he moved here as a child to pick crops. City commissioners voted 5-2 last night to offer the job to Aaron Leal, the city attorney in Royal Oak. He was selected over two other candidates who made it into the final round of interviews. The city still needs to conduct a background check and negotiate a contract before it officially offers Leal the job. The goal is to have that all completed by early June.
Several community members, as well as two commissioners, wanted to offer the job to Lewis Smith. Smith was most recently legal council for Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network. Vice Mayor Don Cooney and Commissioner Stephanie Hoffman said his previous experience would make him adept at fighting housing discrimination in the city. But other commissioners worried about his lack of experience in municipal law.
Economic development chief talks community building, arena
Community development is the new name of the game for Southwest Michigan First. The longtime regional economic development organization announced that it has recently shifted its focus from a purely business focus to efforts to uplift entire communities in the region it represents. CEO Jonas Peterson gave a presentation to Kalamazoo city commissioners last night on the group’s recent efforts. That includes a new Ford battery plant being developed in nearby Calhoun County. “This is going to have an impact, and in many ways help launch an entirely new segment of advanced manufacturing throughout southwest Michigan,” he said.
But the subject of a proposed arena in downtown Kalamazoo was on commissioners’ minds, and they tried to get more details. Peterson said there isn’t much yet to report. “In many ways the hard work is just beginning, including construction timeline, including final design,” he said. “There are certainly some rough timelines, but we expect over the next six months that more of those details will be coming together.” What we do know is that the event center would be built on four blocks of land between Westnedge Avenue and Park Street and that development is being entirely privately funded.
Things To Do In Kalamazoo
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Rookie Detectives: Georgia O’Keeffe Loved the Desert – Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
10:00AM 4/4
Kirk Newman Art School Residents – Part II – Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
12:00PM 4/4
Kirsten Tracy and David Small Present: Cat’s Very Good Day – this is a bookstore | Bookbug
6:30PM 4/4
John & Tamara With Luke Lenhart – The Sugar Bowl Bar and Grill
6:30PM 4/4
Spring Cleaning! Cleansing Vegan Recipes for a Healthful Year Ahead – Chef Channon
7:00PM 4/4
Spring Cleaning Boot Camp – Portage District Library
7:00PM 4/4
Our Planet Live in Concert – Miller Auditorium
7:00PM 4/5
Craft Music – Spring – Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra
7:00PM 4/5
3 of a Kind – Hilton Garden Inn
7:00PM 4/5
NYC Pianist David Berkman – WMU, Dalton Center
7:30PM 4/5
The Kettle Belles – Louie’s Trophy House
9:00PM 4/5
Playworks Michigan Playshop – Woods Lake Elementary School
9:00AM 4/6
Intro to Henna Design – Coffee Rescue
6:00PM 4/6
Adult African Diasporic Dance – Rootead
6:30PM 4/6
Garcia Peoples & Chris Forsyth – Bell’s Eccentric Cafe
8:00PM 4/6
See more upcoming events here.
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